Bobbin



G- MANNING Sept. 21, 1954 BOBBIN FilGd Oct. 9, 1951 INVENT OR ATTORNEYS Patented Sept. 21, 1954 BOBBIN George Manning, Shawmut, Ala., assignor to West Point Manufacturing Company, Shawmut, Man, a corporation of Alabama Application October 9, 1951, Serial No. 250,533

2 Claims.

This invention relates to bobbins for use with roving, spinning, or twisting frames having spindles mounting the bobbins to receive the yarn. More particularly, this invention pertains to an improved bobbin that provides a reduction in the force required to doff the same, i. e., remove the bobbin from the spindle after the package is full.

Bobbins of the type under consideration comprise cylindrical tubes, of paper, wood, or metal, that have an interior frusto-conical seat to engage a slightly tapered spindle for rotation therewith. Such bobbins are generally used on roving, spinning, or twisting frames to wind up the spun or twisted yarn. It readily will be seen that such bobbins must have a sufficiently tight seating engagement with the spindle to be driventhereby without working loose and riding up on the spindle. After the package is full, however, the bobbin must be doffed, that is, pulled off the spindle. In conventional bobbins the force required to doff the bobbin is unduly large, and therefore requires a considerable amount of tiresome effort on the part of the operator, who usually handles several multiple-spindle machines.

Hence, it is an object of this invention to provide an improved bobbin that requires a smaller doffing force than conventional bobbins.

It is another object of this invention to provide an improved bobbin having easier dofilng characteristics, yet which will have a sufficiently tight seating engagement with the spindle to be driven thereby without working loose and riding up on the spindle.

It is a further object of this invention to provide an improved bobbin for accomplishing the above objects that is simple in design and consequently inexpensive to manufacture.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will be evident from the following description and accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 is an elevational view, partly in section, of a bobbin embodying this invention and shown seated on a spindle.

Figure 2 is an enlarged fragmentary vertical sectional view of the spindle seat of the bobbin shown in Figure 1.

Figure 3 is a sectional view taken on line 3-3 of Figure 2.

Figures 4-8, inclusive, are fragmentary developed views of modifications of the spindle seat.

Referring now to the drawings, there is shown in Figure 1 a bobbin I embodying this invention seated upon a spindle 12. The spindle I2 is conventional in design and requires little detailed description. It is sufficient to state that the spindle l 2 comprises an elongated metallic rod I 4 having a slightly tapered nose it. The rod [4 is mounted for rotation upon a suitable supporting base I8 that may be secured to a spindle rail 26 of a spinning frame (not shown). Below the whorl 22 of the spindle [2 are two axially spaced annular flanges 24 constituting a pulley-like construction for receiving a driving tape (not shown) The bobbin l0 comprises a hollow tubular element which may be made of wood, paper, or metal. The particular bobbin [0 illustrated is shown to be made of wood, but it will be realized that this invention may be applied to bobbins of paper, metal, or other suitable material. The inner surface of the lower end or base 26 of the bobbin II] is complementary to the spindle whorl 22 and sized to provide an easy slip fit thereon for centering the base of the bobbin on the spindle 12. A conventional annular metallic ring 28 reinforces the lower end of the bobbin Ill.

The interior of the upper or nose portion 38 of the bobbin I0 is upwardly tapered to provide a frusto-conical seat 32 for frictional driving engagement with the slightly tapered nose I16 of the spindle It. In bobbins of the so-called thin-wall paper tube type (not shown), this seat 32 is formed, in some instances, within a hollow insert or bushing made of a plastic material, such as Bakelite. In the so-calledthick wall paper tube type of bobbins (not shown) this seat may be formed by the inturning of a plurality of the numerous plies forming the body of the bobbin.

It will be seen that in order to secure sufficient frictional driving engagement between the bobbin seat 32 and the spindle nose I6, there must be a forceful seating of the bobbin ID on the spindle I 2. After the package is full, the bobbin ill must be doffed, yet because of the rather tight gripping engagement between the bobbin seat 32 and the spindle nose I6, effected by the forceful seating of the bobbin, the force required todoff most conventional bobbins is excessive. The resulting physical effort on the part of the operator is tiring, particularly when it is realized that an operator must doff a large number of bobbins per Working day.

It has been found that, the doffing force required may be considerably reduced, while retaining adequate frictional driving engagement between the spindle l2 and bobbin ID, by providing the seat 32 with an interrupted surface. The interruptions in the seat surface may be formed in several ways. As illustrated in Figures 1, 2, and 3, the surface interruptions are formed by a plurality of substantially equally circumferentially spaced straight grooves 34 which extend along the slant height of the frusto-conical seat 32.

It has been found in actual practice that in a wooden bobbin of this nature, interruptions of the seat surface by means of the afore-described grooves 34 will reduce the required dofiing force, for a given seating energy, to about 70% of its former value. In other words, the surface interruptions of the seat as will make the bobbin about 30% easier to doff. Likewise, for a thinwalled paper bobbin having a plastic nose insert to form the spindle-engaging seat, the provision of surface interruptions in such seat will reduce the dofiing force, for a given seating energy, to about 31% of its former value. In other words, such surface interruptions will effect about a 69% reduction in the dofiing force required for such bobbin.

It is believed that the easier doifing accomplished by an interrupted seat surface is due to the greater elasticity provided by such interruptions. Since the steel spindle nose [6 is relatively incompressible, the necessary gripping engagement between the spindle and the bobbin for driving the latter is effected by a distortion or stretching of the material forming the bobbin adjacent the seat 32. Conventional bobbin seats are relatively inelastic, however, because of the relatively hard materials from which they are made and also because of the increase in wall thickness adjacent the seat 32. Hence, such bobbins tend to wedge or bind tightly on the spindle nose 16. Surface interruptions in the seat, however, tend to reduce its garter effect, with consequent reduction in required dofiing force.

It also has been found desirable to provide an angle of taper of the seat 82 which will limit the area of contact between the seat 32 and the spindle nose [8, i. e., the bearing area, to an annular band 36 of from about A; to about /4 of an inch wide, as shown best in Figure 2. A bearing area 36 of these dimensions provides sufficient frictional engagement between the spindle nose l6 and the bobbin H] to drive the latter without its working loose and riding up on the spindle l2, yet in combination with an interrupted seat surface effects easier doffing.

The interruptions of the surface area of the bobbin seat 32 may be accomplished in other ways. For example, the surface area may be interrupted by means of a plurality of substantially evenly spaced helical grooves 38, as shown in Figure 4, or by means of two sets of helical grooves c8 and. 42, each set extending in opposite directions so that the grooves 40 and 42 cross each other at a plurality of intersections, as shown in Figure 5. Still another manner of locating the surface interrupting grooves would be to form a plurality of axially-spaced concentric grooves 44 as shown in Figure 6. Although grooves of the aforementioned nature may be easily formed in conventional bobbins, either subsequent to or during the manufacture thereof, surface interruptions which will accomplish the desired objects of this invention may be provided by forming the bobbin seat 32 with material having a pebble finish 56, as shown in Figure 7, or a so-called wrinkle finish 48, as shown in Figure 8.

' It will therefore be seen that the objects of this invention have been fully and effectively accomplished by an inexpensive and simple bobbin construction. It will be realized, however, that various changes may be made in the specific examples used to illustrate this invention without departing from the principles thereof. Hence, this invention includes all embodiments encompassed within the spirit and scope of the following claims.

Iclaim:

1. An easily dofied bobbin comprising a hollow tubular element including an inner annular seat having a frusto-conical surface for frictional engagement with a spindle nose along a narrow annular band of contact, said seat having a plurality of indentations formed therein providing minor interruptions in said engagement surface, the portion of said frusto-conical surface within said narrow annular band of contact presenting a plurality of spaced surfaces having a total area substantially greater than the total area of the spaces therebetween.

2. An easily doffed bobbin comprising an elongated substantially cylindrical element having a longitudinal bore therein, said bore including an annular seat formed in the upper end portion of said element having a frusto-conical surface for frictional engagement with a spindle nose along a narrow annular band of contact, said seat having a plurality of parallel, longitudinally extending grooves formed therein providing minor interruptions in said engagement surface, the portion of said engagement surface Within said narrow annular band of contact presenting a series of segmental frusto-conical surfaces spaced apart a distance substantially less than their width, said segmental surfaces frictionally engaging the spindle nose so that the bobbin may be driven by the spindle without working loose I or riding up thereon and yet may be easily doffed therefrom.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 7 160,383 Birkenhead Mar. 2, 1875 176,359 Sawyer Apr. 18, 1876 180,145 Mayor July 25, 1876 2,615,650 Betner et a1. Oct. 28, 1952 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 549,392 Germany Apr. 27, 1932 

